Boys Will :Mostly: Be Boys
by a-big-apple
Summary: **Mike's curiosity is peaked, and when the fox starts packing an overnight bag, he's all over her. "Where are you going?" "April, Oyuki and I are having a girls' night," she says casually. Mike's grinning like crazy now. "Oh! Can I come?"** T for innuendo


Hello again

Hello again! Here I am with my second little oneshot. I'm once again trying to avoid working on the monster gift fic with which I'm having plot troubles. I'm not sure where this came from, other than my love of Mike, and of breaking down gender boundaries…. It's set in the Archie universe, and may not make much sense if you've not read those. If you have, yay for you! This happens in a lull between the Future Shark Trilogy and the first appearance of Sarnath.

The Turtles, April, Ninjara and Oyuki all belong to other folks. I use them here, as always, lovingly.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Boys Will Be Boys (Mostly)

It's the middle of the night. I'm awake, because my body is still on…whatever kind of time it was in 2094, rescuing my future self from freaky-looking future mutants, and I know I'm not the only one who can't sleep yet. For a while I was trying to ignore the noise coming from Raph's room, across from mine—with Ninjara here, I try to ignore Raph's room entirely at night. There are some things I just don't need to know about. But tonight, after a while it becomes clear that they're fighting. Again. Probably also something I don't need to know about, but I can't help myself. Before I can really hear what they're fighting about, Raph's door slams open and one of them, I can't tell who, goes storming down the hall. I hear the pay phone near the kitchen jangle, and after a moment I can make out Ninjara's voice.

"Hi…I'm sorry to call so late. No, everyone's okay, I just…. I'm going a little crazy down here. Do you think I could stay at your place tomorrow? I need some girl time."

_April_, I think. _Raph's not going to like that very much!_ And of course, I'm right—Raph must be listening too, because I can hear him curse, and the dull thud of a sai lodging into the wall.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Ninjara isn't talking to Raph the next day, and neither of them mentions Ninjara's plans to anyone else. I can see Mike's curiosity is peaked, though, and when the fox starts packing an overnight bag, he's all over her.

"Where are you going? Oh, that's a really cute nightgown…"

She smacks his hand away. "April and Oyuki and I are having a girls' night," she says, casually.

"Oh!" Mike is grinning like crazy now. "That's great! Can I come?"

There's a second of silence while she stares at him, and I have to try hard not to laugh, or they'll see me watching them from my doorway.

"Mike…it's a _girls' night_. You're not a girl."

"Right. I was just kidding. You know."

Mike sits there a moment longer; I don't think Ninjara noticed, but he looks genuinely disappointed, in a quiet, embarrassed sort of way. He fingers the lace on her nightgown again, almost absently, then gets up and shuffles out.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Later, when April comes to pick up her guest, Mike vanishes into his room. It's clear that Ninjara wants to leave right away, but April is still so excited that we're home that she has to make some small talk. Eventually though, the tension between Raph and Ninjara becomes too thick, and April jangles her keys. "All right, let's get going—Oyuki's probably wondering where we are."

"Yeah, let's get out of here.'

"Wait, wait!"

We all turn, and there's Mike, wearing this blue halter dress that I'm sure I've seen before, and _heels_, of all things—and the most surprising part is, he looks really, really good. Poised, and…well, let's just say I never noticed how long my little brother's legs are before, and I hope I never do again.

He holds up an overnight bag of his own, and gives April and Ninjara that _smile_. Not the one he uses when he knows he's going to get what he wants—the little hopeful one he uses when he really doesn't know if what he wants is okay. Sensei could never resist it when we were little, and the two women have had less practice with it, so of course they're blown away. We're all totally speechless, until finally Ninjara laughs and loops her arm through Mike's.

"Sure, honey. Let's go."

Mikey's eyes light up like Christmas, and they walk out together—when they pass, I can see that he's cut a huge hole in the back of the dress and tucked it under his carapace somehow. _I know I've seen that dress before_…

April follows them out, looking slightly bewildered, but I see her eyes narrow just before the door closes and blocks her from view. "Hey—isn't that _my_ dress?"

Raph and Don both look at me, like I'm going to have some sort of explanation. I just shrug, helpless. Master Splinter, though, chuckles like somebody just told an excellent joke, and retires to his room.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

They come back in time for lunch the next day, this time with Oyuki driving. Mike's still wearing the dress and heels, or maybe wearing them again. Ninjara, with a surprisingly contrite expression, sits beside Raph on the couch immediately, and when they start murmuring softly to each other, the rest of us head for the kitchen to give them space. Mike busily sets the table, with an extra spot for Oyuki; she, at least, looks like her usual self, leaning against the counter with her James Dean look going. _They're smiling at each other an awful lot_, I think, and when they sit I notice my brother's hand, fingernails painted a sort of sparkly silver color, linger over hers. I look at Don as he sits down beside me, and from his expression I know he saw it too.

"Girls' night my butt," he murmurs.

We eat our lunch in silence, watching Mike and Oyuki giggle at each other, while Raph and Ninjara play footsie under the table. After, when the table has been cleared, I leave Don to do the dishes and venture briefly to my room. I don't stay long.

"Donnie."

"Yeah?"

"Raph's door is closed. So is Mike's."

Don pauses a moment, trying to digest this. "Something's gone very wrong here. Our little brothers are getting laid before we do."

Another pause. "How about a game of checkers?"

"You're on."

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

I'd love to hear from you! Thoughts, questions, and constructive criticism are always welcome.


End file.
